Merry Christmas!

I’ll be back next year : )

Christmas time is crazy for us, and there’s no getting around it. DH is working around the clock as his home business has warped into hyper drive for the Christmas rush. The concept of balance is just that – a concept – with no basis in reality. Life is good – it’s just jam-packed. And so I’m going to bow out of the online world until the New Year.

I’m enjoying DD1’s visit home from the west coast – yay! And I’m looking forward to DD2 joining us at home after she writes her last exam for the semester tonight (yep – an exam Saturday night) – yay! DD3 just started her holidays from her high school – and so did I (I’m a teacher) – yay! There will be visits, shopping, card-writing, gift-wrapping, and baking ahead – as well as preparations to host the big family dinner on the 25th. 23 people this year. I love this stuff! We’re doing it all on a budget, but there’s a large dose of chaos involved, and this is not our most stellar time of year in terms of sticking to it. I’ll report later on how we manage.

I’d like to wish you a wonderful holiday season, and if you celebrate Christmas, I wish you a very merry one : ) See you in 2016!

Awww! Well that’s awfully nice, Tonya : ) I think of you as a brave woman who is doing what most of us only imagine doing. 2016 is promising to be a fabulous year for you. I look forward to reading more of your adventures!

No doubt that the very best things – spending time with family and friends chief among them – about the holiday season are free. Sitting around with friends and family, watching old Christmas movies and relaxing can’t be beat. Enjoy your time with friends and family.

I am looking forward to hearing how it went 🙂 Merry Christmas to you all, DH and family. I had a lot of family coming for Christmas this year as well. I wanted everything to be perfect! Well, it wasn’t. It was awesome at times, uncomfortable and chaotic at others. We do our best and that’s all we can do.

I recognize that we are creating memories for my grandkids and that’s really what it’s all about. Now I know what my parents went thru when I was growing up, trying to give me the best holiday memories possible. And they did a great job! But I imagine it must have been stressful, emotionally and financially.

You have grandkids? That’s hard to believe! It is fairly classic for women in particular to take on too much at Christmas. I haven’t figured out how to avoid that, but I’ve been very intentional this year about letting certain standards of “perfection” go, and it’s helped. We’ve had a great Christmas, and while I was thoroughly exhausted at the end of the day on the 25th, it was a happy tired, and it was followed up by two full days of kick-back-and-rest. I hope that you have been able to work in some rest as well. Happy New Year to you : )